Safety questions over attempts to cut waiting time

More concentrated radiotherapy treatment is
being considered for cancer patients to cut growing patient
waiting times.

National's Health spokesperson Roger Sowry
revealed today that the Ministry of Health has suggested
that radiation oncologists consider more concentrated
radiotherapy treatment as an option to reduce the number of
treatments cancer patients need to increase waiting list
throughput.

Waikato District Health Board's October 2001
report confirms this issue is being discussed seriously by
health boards. We have been told more concentrated
treatments were discussed during conference call meetings
between the MOH, administrators and radiation oncologists
from the six cancer treatment centres. "There is no
evidence that more concentrated radiation treatment is safe
and stops the reoccurrence of cancer. In fact we have been
told that some oncologists opposed the suggestion because of
'late effects' ie. the treatments could damage normal tissue
and nerves and that this damage could be permanent.

"Cancer patient waiting times in New Zealand have been
getting worse for some time despite Annette King's
pre-election promises to reduce waiting times.

"The
Ministry's proposal is a politically driven response to an
extremely serious blow out in waiting times for radiation
treatment. Rather than being based on what is best for
patients it is driven by the Minister allowing waiting times
to blow out so badly she suddenly needs to deal with it.

"This proposal is not from specialist radiation
oncologists who have the clinical expertise in the area, and
there are serious question marks over whether or not this is
a safe practice.

"This is not a time to experiment, this
is a time to find the resources for cancer treatment. That
is the Minister's job.

"The Minister and her Ministry
must justify why they would think of bringing in this method
of cancer treatment when it is not proven to be safe or in
patients' best interests," Mr Sowry said.

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